James Risen

Prosecutors seeking testimony of New York Times reporter in national security trial

Prosecutors in the case of a former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling accused of leaking classified information are attempting to reverse a lower court finding that a New York Times reporter James Risen was exempt from disclosing his sources for a story on a CIA program to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program. The government prosecutors claim that there is no right for reporters to withhold identities of sources in criminal cases. -db From a commentary in Secrecy

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Federal judge says receiving classified information a felony

A federal judge’s assertion that receiving classified information without authorization was a felony is “almost certainly a misunderstanding and a misrepresentation of the law,” writes Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News. The judge made the statement in a memorandum concerning an order limiting the scope of testimony of New York Times reporter James Risen in the Jeffrey Sterling espionage trial. Aftergood says one of the laws the judge cited to support her contention does not prohibit

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